


take a break

by sidetone



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Comfort No Hurt, Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 16:55:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24380170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidetone/pseuds/sidetone
Summary: Working at the archives has been wearing Martin down in a way that sleep can't fix.Tim, being the doting boyfriend he is, thinks he knows the cure.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Tim Stoker
Comments: 3
Kudos: 44





	take a break

**Author's Note:**

> all i want is good things for martin and tim ok they deserve so much...

“Hey babe, what’s wrong? You look down in the dumps.” 

Martin nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Tim’s voice, the cup of tea he’d been holding threatening to spill all over the break room table.

“You know you’re not supposed to call me that at work…” He mumbled sheepishly, and though he tried to keep a straight face and look like he meant it, he could feel a blush creeping up his face, the corners of his lips curling in a half-smile. Damn Tim and damn those butterflies he always gave him… They’d been in a relationship for a couple weeks now, but they’d both agreed that it would be best to keep their love lives… Private. Their mutual agreement didn’t stop Tim from winking at him while they were working and giving him that cheeky grin of his, or dishing out the pet names when they were alone. Martin suspected he just liked seeing him get all flustered.

“Oh, come on now, it’s not like anybody else can hear us right now.” Tim grinned, walking behind where Martin was sitting and wrapping his arms around his neck, practically draping himself over the other man as he gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Seriously though, what’s on your mind? You were really spacing out there.” 

Again, Martin couldn’t help feeling a bit flustered, even if they were alone in the room- but that was just some he’d learned to deal with when dating Tim. Not that he didn’t enjoy it, the attention always made him feel… special. Still, he sighs at the question, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against Tim. 

“It’s just… I don’t know, looking into all this creepy stuff just gets to me sometimes, you know? Makes it a bit hard to sleep.”

“Mm, would some company help? I sure wouldn’t mind staying in your bed~” Tim had that flirtatious smirk on his face, and Martin couldn’t help but laugh. He always had something frisky to say, didn’t he?

“Haha, maybe~” Martin chuckled, before his shoulders dropped again, the stress returning to his face. “Seriously though, it doesn’t help that Jon never seems content with what I find when looking into all this- I’m really trying, y’know?”

Tim frowns a bit at that- Jon always pissed him off, especially with how he talked to his goddamn boyfriend sometimes, but he kept a level head for now. Probably because he wasn’t in the room. 

“Hey now, babe, you don’t gotta waste all your energy on him.” He murmurs, kissing the side of his face again. “He’s just unappreciative anyways.”

“Remember what we said about pet names?” There’s no bite or real seriousness to his words- mostly he just wanted to get the topic off of Jon.

“Babe, baby, darling, dearest, sweetheart~” 

“Oh, hush.” He laughs again, before getting up to refill his cup after finishing off his tea. “Maybe some caffeine will get me going…”

His boyfriend was silent for a moment as he watched him cross to the other side of the room, before speaking up. “You know what I think, Martin?” He steps closer, and Martin can tell just from his voice that he’s got something up his sleeve.

“What’s that, Tim?” 

“I don’t think coffee’s gonna fix this.” He gently takes the cup out of his hands, pushing it aside. “I think you…” He has him backed up against the counter now, one hand on his shoulder while the other presses against his lips, as if to shush him. “... need some serious TLC.”

“T-TLC?” He stammers a bit- Tim always knew just how to make his knees weak, doesn’t he? He should be used to this kind of affection by now, but he can’t help his heart from beating quicker in his chest. “I’m… not sure what you mean.”

“You made me so sad when you say things like that, dear…” Tim sighed, shaking his head, before smiling as he ran his hands through Martin’s hair. “Tender loving care~ TLC!” 

“You say the cheesiest things sometimes…” It was hard not to laugh when Tim said that kind of thing, but he could tell from the look in his eyes that he was being serious, despite all his joking around and teasing. 

“You wound me.” Tim rolled his eyes, poking his cheek playfully. “Really though, why don’t we do something special for you tonight? You need a break, and I think a night to treat yourself would do you some good.” 

“You really don’t have to do that for me…” Martin looked away sheepishly- he was always hesitant to accept such favors, and Tim knew that. He knew he was going to have to push for it, but that wasn’t going to deter him in the slightest.

“Come onnnnn, you’re always doting on me all day long, bring me tea ‘n all that… Not to mention you’re always doing favors like that for Jon and Sasha, too. When was the last time you let anyone do something nice for you, hm?” Tim asked, and his boyfriend fell silent for a bit, giving him an almost guilty look. 

“Mm, it’s really not a big deal… But okay, fine, if you insist. I know you’re not gonna give up on it, anyways.” He agreed somewhat reluctantly, feeling like he didn’t deserve it, but he couldn’t help but smile when he saw the grin on Tim’s face at that. 

“Good. It’s a date, then. In fact…” Tim paused for a moment, walking two fingers up his chest with a mischievous look on his face. “Let’s start right now~” Before Martin could ask what he meant by that, Tim pulled him into a kiss, gentle but backed with the kind of passion that Martin couldn’t bring himself to pull away from. The way Tim kissed him always made his knees weak, always stole his breath- he loved the way he kissed him, and Tim knew it all too well. 

“I-I should really get back to work…” He stammered quietly as soon as Tim pulled away, but he didn’t make any move to leave. Of course he didn’t. And his boyfriend knew damn well he didn’t actually want to go. He just kissed him again, letting one arm rest on his waist while the other ran through his hair just the way Martin liked. 

It was quite a while before Martin could finally get himself to pull away, though he couldn’t wipe the lovestruck smile off his face. “O-Okay, seriously though, Sasha’s gonna walk in on us at this rate… Save that for later, alright?” They both laughed a little at that, Tim backing away from him to give him room to leave.

“Fine, fine.” He sighed, straightening himself out a bit. “Though, I dunno what the point of Jon asking us to do some of this shit is. He never believes any of it anyways.”

“Oh, lighten up. I’m sure he’s just… trying to be professional. Or something.” He chided, filling his cup with coffee before heading towards the door. “I’ll see you tonight, dear.”

Tim let out an over dramatic gasp at that, covering his mouth with his hand. “Oh! Oh! What happened to the ‘no pet names at work’ rule, huh? You can say it but I can’t?” He was just messing with him of course, just trying to get another laugh out of him before he left. He succeeded, Martin chuckling again as he rolled his eyes.

“Oh, hush. You weren’t following the rules anyways.” Even as he left the room, walking down the hall and sipping the bitter coffee he so rarely drank, he couldn’t help feeling a bit giddy, lovestruck, all kinds of feelings that left him with a pink flush on his cheeks. That may have been a short break compared to the day he had ahead of him, but he was feeling better already. He actually had something to look forward to now, after all.

\--

Of course, Tim went over the top for his boyfriend that night, taking him out for a nice dinner, watching some of his favorite movies with him, even buying him a pint of ice cream for afterwards. It was a bit hard for him to accept, honestly- For most of his life, Martin had been alone. He’d never quite been close to anyone, even in terms of friendship. He was too busy helping his mother to make any close friends during his school days up until he’d dropped out, and after that he’d only really had some friends at work that were really more like acquaintances, until he’d come to the institute, and now… It was hard enough to believe that he’d actually managed to find real friends in Tim and Sasha, and to think that someone actually felt this way about him? That someone would do all this just to cheer him up? It didn’t feel real.

“Hey, babe, is something wrong? Do you not like the ice cream I picked out?” Tim asked, and Martin just quietly laughed, shaking his head.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just…” He hesitated, fiddling with his spoon. “I dunno, I just can’t believe anyone would like me this much.” 

He frowned a little at that, tilting his head. “What do you mean?”

Martin looked embarrassed at this, refusing to meet his eyes. “It’s just, well… You’re just so far out of my league, you know? You’re so handsome and charming and you spoil me, and… It’s just strange, I don’t know why you’d settle for me.”

“You act like you’re not all those things too.” Tim pointed out, resting his hand on his shoulder. “Really, Martin, you need to start seeing how much you have to offer. You’re a handsome, loving, fun guy and anyone would be lucky to have you.” 

Martin might’ve argued if it weren’t for the absolute conviction in his voice, making his heart flutter again. How did he always manage to do that…? “If you say so…” He managed, but Tim could tell that he didn’t really believe it. 

“Well, I do say so. And I’m gonna keep saying so until you can actually believe it and have some confidence in yourself, okay?”

 _Oh god Martin, don’t cry-_ He blinked back his tears for a moment, trying to hide how emotional he was getting. “Thank you, it… Really means a lot.” 

“No need to thank me.” Tim gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, intertwining their fingers and squeezing his hand. “What are boyfriends for?”


End file.
